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Many people have reported being targeted for the 100,000 point offer for The Platinum Card from American Express through the CardMatch Tool. Be sure to check for yourself to see what offers are available to you (there is no credit check)!

TPG reader Stan tweeted me to ask:

@thepointsguy– “What is the current 2014 success rate of getting an Amex Platinum reimbursement for purchasing airline gift cards?”

One of my favorite perks of The Platinum Card® from American Express is the annual $200 airline fee credit. Every year you get to select a different airline of your choice, and throughout the year you can get a rebate of up to $200 for incidentals like baggage fees or in-flight purchases.

The rules state that airline gift card purchases are ineligible for the credit. However, I know a lot of people (myself included) have gotten the reimbursement anyway.

Earlier this year I canceled my Mercedes-Benz card and opened an Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN through a targeted 100,000 point offer. I’d actually forgotten to get my reimbursement–so thanks for reminding me! Here’s a section of the email I was sent regarding the benefit.

“Thank you for selecting American Airlines for your $200 Airline Fee Credit benefit. You will now receive up to $200 in statement credits each calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your selected Business Platinum Card Account.

Please allow 2-4 weeks after you charge the incidental fee(s) for the statement credits to appear on your Account. We rely on airline transaction data to identify incidental fee purchases, so if you do not see a credit after 4 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card.”

As you can see, gift card purchases are not listed among the incidental fees covered by this benefit. However, shortly after receiving the email I bought four $50 airline gift cards, and lo and behold, just a day or so after they were each credited back to my account!

Officially you can’t get a credit for airline gift cards, but it usually works! Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

So, if you have an Amex Platinum card and you haven’t yet used your benefits, you should definitely do so. Almost everyone I know who has used the benefit on airline gift cards has had success, so hopefully you will too.

Note that it seems to work better if you buy several gift cards in smaller increments, like four $50 gift cards (as I did) instead of one $200 card. I’ve even had friends get reimbursed for taxes and fees used to pay for an award ticket on their selected airline.

Make sure to utilize this benefit before December 31, 2014. Come January, we’ll all have another $200 reimbursement coming to us!

If you’re considering getting the card, now would be the best time to do so in order to maximize the $200 credit in both 2014 and 2015–that’s $400 total you can get reimbursed!

If you have any other questions, please tweet me @thepointsguy, message me on Facebook, or send me an email at info@thepointsguy.com.

Know before you go.

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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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See PRIVACY POLICY.

The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertising policy page for more information.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.